Tobias Rauschning didn’t start out in biotech. He started with blueprints.
When he joined QIAGEN in 1997 as a civil engineer, he wasn’t designing experiments or analyzing data. He was helping build the spaces where those discoveries could happen. And more than 25 years later, he’s still doing just that – now on a global scale.
Engineering for innovation
Today, Tobias leads Global Real Estate Management and Site Development, a role that touches nearly every QIAGEN location around the world. From concept to construction, he oversees the infrastructure that enables safe, innovative and sustainable work, ensuring QIAGEN teams have what they need to push science forward.
“Creating new things is what I love most about my job,” Tobias says.
One of his proudest achievements? The recent expansion of the Barcelona Global Technology Hub, a project that fused engineering precision with a global vision for innovation.
Tobias sees every project as more than just bricks and beams. It’s about creating environments that support discovery. This means including people from all kinds of disciplines. Even though QIAGEN is a biotech company, there are so many opportunities for people from different backgrounds, he explains. It’s not just about lab work. It’s about what supports that work behind the scenes.
A defining moment in crisis
Tobias remembers the COVID-19 pandemic as a defining moment. It was a time when the need for close collaboration became more critical than ever.
“The urgency of what we were doing was felt by everyone, from our team to our suppliers. It was extraordinary. A once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
It was during this time that Tobias witnessed the true depth of QIAGEN’s collaborative culture. Engineers, scientists, vendors and partners all moved in unison and each effort contributed to something greater.
More than bricks and mortar
Over the years, Tobias’s work has helped shape QIAGEN from the ground up. But his impact isn’t only structural; it’s also deeply personal.
Over the years, Tobias has built strong relationships at QIAGEN, including one with his wife, whom he met here.
“The connections I’ve made mean a lot to me,” he says. “This place is more than a company; it’s a community.”
Tobias continues to design and deliver the spaces where science grows. And in doing so, he’s helped build more than facilities; he’s helped build QIAGEN’s future.
Because when you create the space for science to grow, you make impact possible.